Sunday, July 7, 2013

R.I.P. Charles "Chally" Bates

On July 4th, Chally Bates passed away. Chally was a local fly fishing guru, great fly tyer and a gentleman of the highest caliber. He worked at Shannon's Fly Shop in Califon, NJ for years and greeted everyone that entered the shop with his big friendly smile. He knew the South Branch of the Raritan River and it's varying moods as well as anyone, and tied his flies with a sensibility to match the river's personality perfectly. We will miss you Chally.

When Chally was 14 years old he designed the CB Stocker, a streamer pattern for NJ's wily stocked trout. It still works well for both stocked and wild trout. Here's a video of Tim Flagler tying Chally's pattern.